# Addressing An Ex-Pope. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 13, 2013, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161 "2013-02-13T06:53:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/21 "2013-02-13T21:41:30Z")
The Ex-Pope Formerly Known As Benedict? If you don’t know what to call him, just say “Hello…” ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/22 "2013-02-13T21:46:08Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > That would be clearer in Latin—“Rome Emeritus” sounds that it’s _not_ the Eternal City after all, but it still has a bishop. Why not “Bishop Emeritus of Rome”? I think there probably should have been a comma in mine: “Bishop of Rome, Emeritus” which I guess is close to/the same as “Bishop Emeritus of Rome.” ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/23 "2013-02-13T21:50:38Z")
Herr Ratzinger? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/24 "2013-02-13T21:50:47Z")
I’d hazard a guess that “Mein Fuhrer” is right out. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/25 "2013-02-13T23:48:11Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I have seen “Pontifex Emeritus” suggested. [Here?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16000453#post16000453) ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/26 "2013-02-14T00:05:58Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Current presidents are also addressed as “Mr.”. I’m pretty sure “Mr. President” is how you address ex-presidents too. Definitely not. It will remind them of ex-prez’ being called “president” while they were in office. That will miff anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/27 "2013-02-14T01:12:40Z")
“'Lo, Pope”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/28 "2013-02-14T05:21:49Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > [Here?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16000453#post16000453) 🆒 Good thinking, but no, I saw it somewhere else. Commonweal, [perhaps](http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=23195). ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/29 "2013-02-14T06:28:26Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > IIRC, “Bishop Emeritus” is the title of any bishop over 80 (other then the sitting Pope, obviously), and its tradition to tack on the name of the Bishop’s last see to the title, so “Bishop Emeritus of Rome” seems like the title most in keeping with tradition. “Bishop Emeritus” refers to a bishop who has resigned his see, and of course most of them _are_ over 80, but it’s the resignation of the see, not the age, which makes them “emeritus”. Bishop Francis Hong Yong-ho is 106, but as he has never resigned the see of Pyongyang (to which he was appointed in 1944) he still turns up in the official lists simply as “Bishop of Pyongyang”. Brendan Comiskey, by contrast, has been Bishop Emeritus of Ferns since the age of 66. > [@Simplicio](#): > > On the other hand, the idea of the Pope as “just another Bishop” has a lot of historical baggage, and Benedict and many of the Cardinals might see the ex-Pope taking a title that would fit in with all the other retired Bishops out there as reinforcing that idea. As **Tom Tildrum** says, “Pontifix Emeritus” has been suggested. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/30 "2013-02-14T09:39:01Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > “Bishop Emeritus” refers to a bishop who has resigned his see, and of course most of them _are_ over 80, but it’s the resignation of the see, not the age, which makes them “emeritus”. Bishop Francis Hong Yong-ho is 106, but as he has never resigned the see of Pyongyang (to which he was appointed in 1944) he still turns up in the official lists simply as “Bishop of Pyongyang”. Brendan Comiskey, by contrast, has been Bishop Emeritus of Ferns since the age of 66 I thought the same rule change that kept Cardinal’s over the age of 80 from voting also forced bishops to give up their sees at the same age, though some googling says the age is actually 75 (Hong Young-Ho is obviously a special case). But your right its the retiring and not the age that formally makes a bishop a bishop emeritus. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/31 "2013-02-14T10:49:19Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I thought the same rule change that kept Cardinal’s over the age of 80 from voting also forced bishops to give up their sees at the same age, though some googling says the age is actually 75 (Hong Young-Ho is obviously a special case). But your right its the retiring and not the age that formally makes a bishop a bishop emeritus. Bishops are required to offer their resignations when they turn 75, but these are sometimes not accepted, or are deferred for significant periods. And they can, and occasionally do, retire before that age, usually due to a health problem. Hong Yong-Ho is probably dead. He “disappeared” along with most of the clergy of his diocese in the late 1940s or early 1950s. It’s theoretically possible that he is still alive in some North Korean re-education camp, but wildly unlikely. The Vatican still lists him as Bishop of Pyongyang in order to Make A Point; they’ve never found out what happened to him. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/32 "2013-02-14T13:33:54Z")
Your Former Popeliness? ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/33 "2013-02-14T18:56:06Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Only if she’s a queen herself. The “queen” in queen mother describes the mother, not the child (who could also be a king). Queen Victoria just had a mother. Which bothered Queen Victoria’s mother no end, by the way. (Victoria’s mother was also named Victoria.) By the way, re the “Ex-Benedict” idea: I’m sure there’s a pun on Hollandaise/Holy Days in there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/34 "2013-02-14T19:01:29Z")
> [@11811](#): > > Your Former Popeliness? If he’s not being made a cardinal (again) then as a bishop emeritus the appropriate form of address would be “Your Excellency” when speaking to him, and “His Excellency” when speaking about him. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/35 "2013-02-14T19:37:22Z")
The & operator should still work regardless of pope status unless the memory he resides in has been freed. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/36 "2013-02-14T21:15:36Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Definitely not. It will remind them of ex-prez’ being called “president” while they were in office. That will miff anyone. Here’s [Emily Post’s rules,](http://www.emilypost.com/forms-of-address/titles/118-addressing-a-former-us-president) which sound pretty accurate (short answer, no, you don’t call them Mr. President, you call them Mr. Lastname (Carter, Clinton etc.)) If the ex-Pope is considered a Bishop, would he be **Bishop Benedict XVI**? Or does that chosen name only apply to his, ah, Pope-ness and therefore rescind when he resigns? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/37 "2013-02-14T21:18:02Z")
> [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > Ex-Benedict. They’re not just for breakfast anymore. I think we have a winner here… ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/38 "2013-02-14T21:32:09Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > :smack: That’s right. He’s ordained to the office of Bishop, but is appointed as a Cardinal. He remains a Bishop. But he won’t be the bishop _of Rome_ any more. In fact, he won’t be the bishop of _anywhere_ any more, as far as I know. He apparently gets to keep the title “bishop” even if he doesn’t have any bishopful duties. Which is useful if he needs to move diagonally, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/39 "2013-02-14T22:51:36Z")
> [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > Ex-Benedict. They’re not just for breakfast anymore. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161/40 "2013-02-15T01:42:17Z")
[From The Michigan Catholic](http://www.themichigancatholic.com/2013/02/bishop-emeritus-of-rome-questions-pour-in-regarding-benedicts-future-status/): > [@](#): > > Asked what title Pope Benedict would use after Feb. 28, [Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman] had said that was a question still being studied, but it seemed to him that the most accurate title would be “bishop emeritus of Rome.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-an-ex-pope/650161.md?page=3)